


Will There Be Light?

by HartSense26809



Series: WestAllen Drabble Collection [21]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Grief/Mourning, Loss, Miscarriage, eventual hope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-22 22:54:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20882000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HartSense26809/pseuds/HartSense26809
Summary: Barry and Iris suffer a devastating loss but their unwavering love will see them through.





	Will There Be Light?

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the WestAllen Drabble Prompt Challenge 
> 
> Prompt: What Should We Name Her?

They say grief comes in five stages. First there’s denial, followed by anger, then comes bargaining and depression. For most the final stage of grief is acceptance but for Iris grief had become a life sentence without clemency. She couldn’t accept what happened. She couldn’t forgive herself.

The miscarriage of their first child three months ago had devastated Iris and brought a chasm between the West-Allens that Barry wasn’t sure if their love alone could heal. 

Iris was firmly ensconced in the fourth stage of grief, depression. She never left their home and barely left their bedroom. Everything she did was on autopilot. She was lost in a storm of sorrow and blame and as hard as Barry tried to navigate his way through the storm he couldn’t reach her. And the longer she was adrift the more he doubted he could save her. 

He tried softly talking to her, trying to reassure her that time would heal her broken heart. He tried holding her tightly in his arms hoping that by some metaphysical miracle of osmosis his love for her would penetrate her body and flood her with a new sense of life and purpose. They went to grief counseling together but Iris had turned that fifty minutes into her own personal stage. She did and said everything that the therapist wanted to hear and see but when she returned home she retreated to the shell she had become.

Barry had one last hope. A Hail Mary that he hoped to pass to a grieving Iris who he prayed would accept it. He entered their loft surprised to see Iris in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea.

“Hi sweetheart.” 

Iris replied with a mumbled hi, not acknowledging his presence with her eyes, and began to retreat to the sofa when she heard the soft whimper. She stopped and turned around to a completely unexpected sight.

There stood her husband, her patient, loving husband holding a Maltipoo puppy with a pink ribbon tied around her neck. Iris locked eyes with the puppy and slowly began to walk towards the adorable duo. The moment Iris was in arms reach of the puppy she began to squirm in Barry’s arms as if she was trying to get to Iris. Acting on nothing but pure instinct Iris extended her arms and took the puppy and nestled her to her chest. 

The golden haired puppy cooed against Iris’s warmth and tears began to well in Barry’s eyes as he saw the light return to Iris’s eyes as she smiled. 

“Barry…..” His name was a question on her lips.

He shrugged his shoulders. “There was a robbery down by the docks today and as I was leaving I heard this sweet pea cry. She was huddled, dirty and scared by a dumpster. She had no tags so I took her back to CCPD. I checked with animal control she wasn’t electronically tagged and no one had reported a golden puppy Malitjpoo missing or stolen so we surmised that she was abandoned. And I thought……….well I thought that maybe we could…………….”

“Give her a home.” 

“Iris I don’t know what I could say that I haven’t already said before. I just want you to know that I love you. No matter how much I say I love you, I always love you more than that. We have so much life and love to give and in the future, when we’re ready, we’re going to give our child all that love. And in the meantime we can love this little one and by healing her from what she’s been through she just might help us heal from what we’ve been through.”

Iris gently caressed Barry’s face as she told him, “I think this is a good place to start to heal Barry.”

It was in that moment, a moment she wasn’t expecting, that Iris began the final stage of grief, acceptance. 

“What should we name her?” Barry asked as he affectionately scratched behind the little dogs ear.

Iris didn’t need to think long about that question because she wanted to give their puppy a name that symbolized what she had sparked in Iris. “Let’s name her Hope.”

Barry smiled, his cheeks unfamiliar with that movement It had been so long and gently kissed Iris on the lips, forever grateful that he never gave up on reaching the woman that never gave up on him.

**Author's Note:**

> So life has been pretty damn difficult lately. Health issues both physical and mental have taken me off course with my writing. I’m trying to slowly get back into it, unsure if I can or will. I just wanted to thank all of you who have been so kind and supportive of me.


End file.
